Sstow-flow



CASSADAY & CLARK.

Car-Track Clearer. I

' Ptemd Feb. 26, I86L,

ff/essek FTCE.

ROBT. GASSADAY AND DANL. CLARK, OF BUFFALO, NET" YORK.

SNOW-PLOW.

Specification of Letters'Patent No. 31,529, dated February 26, 1861.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ROBERT GASSADAY and DANIEL CLARK, of Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have in vented certain new and useful Improvements in Snow-Flows for Railroads; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which Figure l is a side elevation of the truck and frame of a common car with our improved track clearers applied to it. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the cutters used in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. i is a vertical section through one of the tubular sockets showing the broom and broom stem of Figs. 1 and 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

This invention and improvement in clearing snow, ice, dirt, etc., from railroad rails consists, firstly, in combining with a cutter of a suitable shape, applied to the end of an adjustable lever, a pivoted shoe which serves as a guide for the cutter to keep this cutter in a proper relation to the surface Which it is intended to scrape, as will be hereinafter described; secondly, in combining with the aforesaid shoe and cutter, an adjustable knife which precedes the shoe and cutter and forms a channel for said shoe, as will be hereinafter described; thirdly, in arranging, in rear of, and in the same vertical plane as, the cutter bars, yielding brooms which are made of steel wire and otherwise constructed and arranged as will be hereinafter described for sweeping and scraping from the rails the ice or snow whichis loosened and left by the cutters.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use our invention we will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

The truck frame and platform of the car A. is mounted on car wheels B. B. and to the front end of the frame A. the curved fender C. is secured. This fender is so applied to frame A. that it will throw any object with which it may come in contact off from the center of the track; outside of the rails. The fender is also made in three parts, the central part being hinged to the platform of the car so that it can be raised up and laid back on the platform; the other two parts or wings of fender G. are secured rigidly to the end of the platform and project a suitable distance from each side of the 0211'.

On each side, and on top of the platform A. is a metal box a, which is secured in a suitable rigid manner to the car, so as to project a short distance from the front end thereof; and through this box a, passes a cutter bar D. which has a sharp pointed cutter on its lower end. This cutter bar D. is made fast to box a, by the binding screw Z). The cutter bar D. is held, by the means described, in an inclined position and it is adjusted so that the cutting point on its lower end will nearly touch either the surface of the rail or tram-way and form a channel in the ice or snow which covers the surface over which the cutting point travels. In rear of these cutter bars D. D. and on each side of the platform A. is another inclined bar E. which is pivoted at c, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. This bar, or more properly speaking, lever E. has a cutter (Z, formed on its lower end and the edge of this cutter is so shaped as to embrace the railroad rail and to scrape off the ice, etc., from the surface of the rail; on one sidethe insideof cutter cZ, a curved shoe 6, is pivoted. This shoe extends in front and in rear of that portion of the lever E. to which it is pivoted in a longitudinal direction; and the sole or bottom edge of this shoe should run on the surface of the tram-rail in the channel formed by the cutter D, preceding it. This shoe 6, is intended to protect the'cutter (Z, if the rails are uneven or the points in bad condition. The lever E. has a handle formed on its upper end, and below this handle is a slot f, through which passes the screw shank of a button-head pin g. The nut 9, holds the pin g, securely in position to the lever.

Gnis an arm which is pivoted at its rear end at I and which has a handle on its other end, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings; below this handle notches are cut on the front edge of the lever and when one of these notches is dropped over the fixed pin g, it will hold the lever E. in a rigid manner, either in a position for the cutter (Z, to scrape the rails, or in such a position that the cutter (Z, will not operate.

The pin g, may be adjusted on lever E. by loosening nut g, andthis pin 9, will allow the cutter (Z, on the lower end of lever E. to be adjusted to a nicety, so that the cutting edge of this cutter 03, may be set as near to til)? surface of the rail as it is found desira e.

Behind the levers E. E. and on each side of the platform a broom is arranged for sweeping off the loose ice, snow, etc., left on the rails by the cutters preceding it. The brooms are constructed in the following manner. We will describe one of the brooms as they are both constructed alike. H. is a tube of a suitable diameter, and length, which is secured to the side of the car in an inclined position as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. This tube H. is represented in Fig. 4., in section, and it will be seen thatit is simply a cylinder which is open at both ends. On the upper end of this tube H. is secured a metallic cap 2', and through the center of this cap passes loosely, the broom stem 70. The lower end of this stem is, is swelled out and confines the broom wires Z, in a cap m, by forcing this cap m, downward with the nut n. These wires Z, surround the lower end of stem is, and form a suitable broom for sweeping the rails surface. A spring 9, is coiled around the stem is, inside of the tube H. and this spring acts against the cap 2', and forces the broom Z, down on the surface of the rails. A nut r,

is used to adjust the broom and by screwing this nut in one direction the broom will be raised, and by turning it in the opposite direction the broom will be depressed.

Now from this description it will be seen that the cutting points of barsD. D. will each form a channel in the ice or snow which has gathered on the tram-way inside of the rails, and in these channels the shoes 6, e, on the cutter bars E. E. will run. .These shoes will therefore prevent their respective cutters (Z, (Z, from coming in contact with the rails, should the rails be uneven, or the joints of the rails be loose. As the cutters scrape the ice or snow from the rails the wings s, s, which are secured to and project out from each side of the cutter bars E. E., throw the loose snow off from each side of the rails. The brooms Z, Z, now follow and sweep the surfaces of the rails and the surfaces of the parts about the sides of the rails. Should the snow be very deep the fenders C. 0. take off a great portion of it leaving the cutters 0Z, (Z, and wings s, 8, together with the brooms Z, Z, to clear the rails entirely.

Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

1. The cutter bars E. E. with their cutters d, cZ, and shoes 6, e, arranged as herein described in combination with the adjustable cutter bars D. D. which form the channels for the shoes 6, e, substantially as herein set forth.

2. In combination with the above specified parts, the adjustable yielding brooms Z, Z, arranged in the relation to said parts indhoperating substantially as herein set ort ROBERT CASSADAY. DANIEL CLARK.

Witnesses: Y

THos. F. THORNTON, ISAAC PHILIPSON. 

